Wishes Fulfilled
by pinkskyline
Summary: AU where Jean and Logan are married but NOT a JeanLogan story. Obviously they are headed for a breakup. Pairings JeanScott and LoganJubilee. Reviews more than welcome!
1. Chapter 1

AU or Alternate timeline where Jean Grey never married Scott Summers because she gave into her "passion" for Logan shortly after they met. Logan and Jean have been married for several years and aren't happy. Not a Logan/Jean story. The team is basically the same…the only difference is that Logan has been faithful to Jean, so he never had a relationship with Mariko or anyone else…And because of the changed relationships the characters are slightly different, as well. Also I don't really understand all that Phoenix stuff so I am ignoring it. Jubilee when she shows up will be older (early 20s?). Logan/Jubilee, Scott/Jean.

Logan woke up at 5 am each morning. He tried not to wake Jean because she liked to get another hour of sleep before she got up. When Logan moved quietly, he didn't make a sound a normal human could hear, and he moved very quietly this morning. He loved his wife, he respected her and thought she was a brilliant, beautiful woman, but they spent enough time together already. He didn't want to hear her voice, mentally or otherwise, until at least noon today.

Logan's run was longer than usual that morning. He went his normal route for a few miles and then deviated from the trail to run through the underbrush of the forest. He got a few scratches on his skin, but they healed almost immediately, and he almost relished the momentary pain. He missed the outdoors; the feeling of grass underneath his feet and hearing birds and small animals scurry away from the ungainly sound of a man running through the underbrush.

Logan had been cooped up too long.

It wasn't that missions were less frequent. Trouble was happening so often these days that most of the team was tired out and vaguely disgruntled. And the missions were just as dangerous as anything Logan had faced in the past, if not more so.

It had just been a long time since he'd been on the open road alone, with no one to bother him or mother him or try to make him into something that he wasn't. The last time he'd felt that freedom had been that time he'd gone to Japan. It had been good to be alone. Logan titled his head slightly in confusion, unconsciously looking like a dog as he ran. He hadn't been alone that trip, he had been with Jubilee. Well, the girl was enough like him it sometimes seemed that when he was with her he was alone, but in a good way.

Not the way Jean made him feel alone.

Logan pushed the thought out of his head. He had fought to win Jean, and when she came to him that night it had broken Scott's heart. Logan couldn't go back on his marriage vows, couldn't be disloyal simply because things weren't the way he had imagined they would be. That old saying "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it" popped into his head. It annoyed him, and he tried to look on the bright side. His wife was beautiful, talented and everything he had ever wanted.

Unfortunately Logan had never been good at judging whether the things he wanted would make him happy. Logan popped out his claws in frustration. He didn't want to think this way. Not when the person who was making him unhappy was his wife and could read his mind. She didn't deserve to feel all his frustration and bitterness. He slashed through an old, dead tree with his claws and let out a roar, which sounded fierce for a moment then faded out into the forest like it had never been there at all. Logan attacked the tree with vigour, as if he was trying to make himself known to something; to make his presence felt. He knew then that he couldn't go on this way for long.

What he wanted more than anything else was to imitate his roar, and fade into the forest like he'd never been there at all.

"Jean, is that Logan driving away?" Scott asked over breakfast.

Jean didn't bother to look up. She did a quick scan with her mind and noted her husband's presence driving away on his bike. She nodded. Jean and Scott were alone for breakfast; that was something that almost never happened. It was the first weekend off many of the team had had and they were trying to spend time with their friends and loved ones. Or in her and Logan's case, away from their loved ones.

"You shouldn't let him treat you like this," Scott said under his breath. She guessed he spoke so quietly because he was giving her the option of pretending she hadn't heard him.

Jean felt compelled to jump to her husband's defence. "Treat me like what? He just needs some space. Most people don't work with their spouse. Its harder than you think," she said.

"I wouldn't have minded," Scott said. He spoke aloud this time, but he wasn't pushing his agenda. They had already had this talk so many times Jean guessed even Scott might be a little sick of it.

"Its easy to say but less easy to actually do it," Jean said. "You've got to move on. Find a nice girl, have a few babies."

"Why haven't you and Logan had babies?" Scott asked.

"Too dangerous," Jean said. "Logan thinks at least one parent should stay out of danger to take care of the child, and I agree. I don't want to give up the day job, and Logan's okay with that."

"That's big of him," Scott said dryly.

"Actually, it is," Jean said. She had been surprised when Logan had been quite willing to allow her to continue the superhero business even after their marriage. He seemed so old-fashioned sometimes, but he was more open-minded than he looked.

"Can't you find fault with him at all?" Scott asked.

Jean looked at him curiously. She wanted to look into his mind and find out exactly what he was driving at, but she had gotten out of the habit when she got involved with Logan. He didn't like her poking around in his mind for nothing other than curiosity's sake, and she had grown to see the wisdom in that, even though it went against many of her natural inclinations. She managed to control her impulse and just answered the question.

"Of course I can find fault with him. Everyone has faults, even you, Scott. Logan loves me, and what's more, he needs me. I keep him sane, keep the feral, wild side of him from coming out. I'm his humanity," she said. She felt a little silly after she said it, but it was something she'd heard her husband say many times before, and not just to her.

"Don't you want more than that? More than just being a crazy runt's key to mental health?" Scott asked.

Jean felt Scott's words pull on her and almost answered yes, but then she was annoyed with the disrespect Scott had spoken with. No one at the mansion called Logan runt, knowing that Sabertooth used that name. Jean felt cold fear every time she thought of Sabertooth ever catching her or her husband in a weak moment, and she didn't need a so called friend reminding her of that.

Jean put down her fork and left the room.

When Logan returned it was 2 in the afternoon. He had managed to make it past noon with hours to spare. Jeannie was in the garden with Storm, so Logan decided to see how long he could actually push not talking to his wife. He put the things he had gone to town to get for her down on the bed and in the kitchen, then changed his clothes and went into the garage to work on his bike.

It was a Harley, an old one, a classic. Every curve was sleek and responsive, or would be when he got the gears working right again. He had been working for a couple of hours when he heard the shuffling of feet and looked up, expecting to see his wife.

He was a little surprised that he was actually pleased that it was Cyc.

"Hey Cyc, what's up?" He asked.

"What are you trying to do, Logan?" Scott asked, his voice annoyed.

Logan looked around him pointedly, his eyes taking in tools and bike parts. "Fixing my bike. What does it look like I'm trying to do?"

"It looks like you're trying to avoid your wife," Scott said.

"That's none of your business," Logan said. He stood up, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans. "Scott, you're not a part of my marriage. You're not involved. Stay the hell out of it."

"I can't stay out of it. You should have seen her at breakfast. She's lonely. Everyone else who's married is off on some romantic getaway, and all you two want to do is getaway from each other," Scott said.

"Maybe you should take her off on a romantic getaway," Logan said, a dangerous glint in his eye. Scott noticed and started to backtrack slightly.

"You know I haven't been involved with Jean that way for a long time," Scott said.

"I know, Jeannie knows, but I'm never certain whether you know it or not, Scoot," Logan said.

"Believe me, I know that she chose you. I don't know why, but she did. I wonder if she regrets it," Scott said.

Logan knew at any other time he would have exploded and threatened Scott with his claws, but he felt a strange kind of empathy for the guy. Scott looked surprised when Logan just shook his head sadly and went back to fixing his bike. "Even if you lived as long as I have, life's too short for regrets," he said. "Even if we don't always know what's best for us."

"What are you saying Logan?" Scott asked. He looked hopeful, as if he thought Logan was going to say he wanted to leave Jean. For the first time, the thought didn't seem far fetched to Logan--but nevertheless he pushed it out of his head.

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud," he said. Scott might have said something else if Logan had looked at him then, or acknowledged him in any way, but he went back to fixing his bike. A moment later Logan heard Scott walk away.

A few minutes later the professor called telepathically and told them to suit up and meet in his office.

"Hello X-Men. I'm sorry that those of you who chose to stay here at the mansion will have your holiday cut short by this--but it shouldn't take long," Charles said.

"Famous last words, Chuck," Logan growled.

"What is this mission?" Jean cut in before Logan had the chance to go on about how the Professor had jinxed them with his words.

"There is a mutant in trouble. She's a young girl who I've been aware of for quite some time. Her powers are not strong enough to protect her in her present situation, although they might develop in the future," the professor said.

"What are her powers?" Storm asked.

"That's not important right now. She's in urgent danger," Charles said.

"What's the danger?" Logan said.

"Her stepfather just found out she's a mutant. He wants to do her physical harm, but she's barricaded herself in the shed behind the house. I've blocked the location of the key from the stepfather's mind, but she needs to get out of that house and that situation," Charles said. "The location is keyed on Blackbird's computer. Good luck."

"Why did we all have to go?" Logan said as they walked toward the Blackbird. "Seems pretty straightforward. Any one of us could have handled it alone. Do you think there's something that Chuck's not telling us?"

"If it was relevant, he would have told us already," Scott said.

"The professor wouldn't hold back information that we would need," Jean said. "Maybe he just--"

"--wanted to punish us for staying here on call by sending us all out for a supposedly easy mission?" Logan finished. "It don't make sense."

"Perhaps the professor intends for the mutant to join the team, so he wants to show her how the team operates," Storm said.

"Well, this isn't how the team operates. We're sleek and efficient, not cumbersome," Logan growled.

_Logan, perhaps you would like to join me in the study. The rest of you may proceed without him. You are perfectly right, not all of you are needed on this mission. _Chuck's voice sounded in Logan's mind, and apparently the minds of the rest of the team as well. Jean looked at Logan sympathetically and kissed him on the cheek before following Scott and Storm up the ramp.

Logan thought he might be in for a lecture about respecting Chuckle's authority. He hadn't had one of those in a while. He had kind of missed them.

"Sit down Logan," the Professor said when Logan entered the room.

Logan sat uncomfortably for a moment before he took off his cowl and looked the professor in the eye. It was a lot easier to talk to Chuck seriously without wearing a stupid looking hat.

"What's up, Chuck?" Logan asked.

"I thought you might want an explanation for the way I set up this mission," Charles said.

"Hey, its your outfit. You run it how you see fit," Logan said. "You don't have to explain anything to me, just don't expect me not to grumble a bit if you don't give us all the information."

"It is hard to get things like this by you, Logan," Charles said. There was a twinkle in the other man's eye and Logan had the feeling that Chuck was making fun of him.

"So what's the story?"

"The stepfather is ex-Friends of Humanity. I wasn't sure where his ultimate loyalty would lie. If he chose to call in his old friends to help him deal with his stepdaughter…well, a few extra bodies wouldn't hurt," Charles said.

"Now I wish I'd kept my mouth shut. I never pass up an opportunity to crack a few of the Friends of Humanity's skulls," Logan said.

"In that case perhaps its better that you're here after all," Charles said. He looked at Logan thoughtfully. "Is there anything you want to discuss with me, while you're here?"

"Nothing I can think of," Logan said.

"Maybe I should think of something for you to do this weekend. You have the look of a man with too much time on his hands," Charles said.

Logan smiled uncertainly. The comment wasn't much like Charles. "Sure, whatever you want," he finally replied.

"Jubilee said something about coming to visit, but with all the Friends of Humanity activity, and because they have information about her on their files, I asked her to stay where she was, and be safe. She agreed, but she was disappointed. Perhaps you could go collect her from Columbia University and bring her back here," the professor said.

"Sounds like fun," Logan said.

"How long has it been since you've seen her?"

"A couple of years. How old is she now, anyway? Twenty-two?" Logan asked.

"Yes, I believe she turned twenty-two just recently. She told me you gave her a lovely birthday present," Charles said.

"I learned a long time ago never to forget that one's birthday. Sometimes I just have trouble keeping track of which one it is," Logan said.

"Of course. Shall I call her and let her know that you're coming?" Charles asked.

"You do that, Chuck," Logan said.

He went to get his things together, then pulled out of mansion gates feeling like a free man for the first time in ages.


	2. Chapter 2

Ack, I forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter. I don't have anything to do with Marvel, will not profit off of this story, and I own no characters but Jill and Heather. Sorry to anyone who got confused and thought I was Stan Lee, lol.

Jubilee put down the phone and started running around like a maniac. Her roommate Jill was looking at her like she had ten heads, but she knew it that depending on traffic it might only take the Wolvster an hour to make it to the city. She didn't have that much time to pack.

"So where are you going again?" Jill asked from the doorway as Jubilee frantically shoved items into her rucksack.

"Home. Or as near to a home as I have, anyway," Jubilee said.

"Oh, you mean the same place you go all the time for the weekend, and for most holidays, and half the time you complain about it cause its so boring, right?" Jill asked.

"I just don't want to keep Wolvie waiting. If I'm all ready, maybe he'll take me out to eat some where or something."

"Wolvie?" Jill asked.

Jubilee said nothing. She knew where Jill was going with this line of questioning, and she didn't want to get into it.

"Wolvie the married guy?" Jill asked.

Jubilee barely managed to suppress her traditional "humph!" It was what she always said when someone mentioned Logan and Jean's marriage. Well, when Jill mentioned it, anyways. She had been all fake supportive and stuff to Jean and Wolvie.

"Wolvie the guy who is not only married, but happily married, too old for you, and just for good measure, lets throw in the fact that he's known you since you were thirteen and thinks of you as a kid, maybe even _his_ kid," Jill said.

"He does not. He's always been my partner, not my parent. And don't say he just said that to humour me, because everyone always says that and its not true. Wolvie's like, too grumpy and mean to humour anybody," Jubilee said.

"Sounds like a charmer," Jill said dryly. "Look Jubes, I'm not trying to be a wet blanket or rain on your parade or any of those downer clichés…its just that sometimes you need a major dose of reality."

"I don't like reality," Jubilee said. She sat down on the bed next to her clothes and looked at the mess she had made. "You're right though. Wolvie and I can't be anything but friends. Even if he realizes that Jean's all wrong for him, I could never do anything to come between Jean and the man she loves. I mean, its Jean. She's like, painfully nice."

"Maybe nice guys finish last?" Jill asked.

"You really are going crazy with the clichés over there, aren't ya?" Jubilee observed. "The thing is, she really isn't the nice guy in this. Either is Wolvie. She was supposed to marry this other guy, Scott, but she left him for Logan."

"What's wrong with this Scott guy?"

"I don't know. He's a bit of a pain sometimes. A little uptight," Jubilee said.

"Whereas the other one is grumpy and mean. She sure can pick em," Jill said. "Now Jubes, I really want to know the truth about this, so I'd like you to answer honestly. Are you part of a bloody cult or something? Why do all these grown people live together? It can't be healthy, especially if they all have affairs with each other."

"They all work for Charles. He likes to have his staff close by in case of emergencies,"

Jubilee said. She never really knew how to explain her family. It was hard to live with normal humans who didn't even know that she was different, let alone that she used to be a superhero. It had seemed more normal when she had lived with her former Gen X-ers in Cali. But Jill was great, even if she did have a certain reality problem.

"Whatever. I was going to go out for coffee with Steve, but I think I'm gonna hold off for an hour. I want to see this highly desirable man who gets you all tizied up," Jill said.

Jubilee smiled enigmatically. "I can't imagine what you'll think of him. Honestly. I'm actually really curious."

An hour and a half later Jubilee was packed and getting impatient. No matter how she tried to tell herself that Wolvie was MARRIED to someone who was like a sister or even a mother to her, and completely off-limits, she couldn't stop her stomach from fluttering when she thought of him coming to see her. No one could blame her for stomach flutter. That stuff is like, completely involuntary.

When the knock on the apartment door came, it was quick, efficient and a little abrupt, just like Wolvie. Jubilee flew over to the door and opened it, unable to keep the beaming smile off her face. Logan was actually smiling, too! He must have missed her. Jubilee flung her arms around her friend at the same time that he grabbed her and picked her up in a bear hug that might have made a lesser girl gasp for air.

"Missed ya," he said, his voice low and rumbly near her ear.

Jubilee felt tears in her eyes and tried her best to hold them back. Sometimes she was

such a damned girl! She blinked them away and managed to answer without any unsteadiness in her voice, "Missed ya, too," she said.

They held on to one another for a moment longer, and then broke apart. "So," Jubilee said. "Do ya wanna see my apartment?" she asked.

"Sure Jubes," Logan said. "I ain't in no rush."

"Great!" Jubilee said. _Tone it down, Jubes_, she told herself, _you don't want Wolvie getting suspicious_…then she remembered, _this is Wolvie. He expects me to be overexcited and a little crazy_. _If anything I should tone it up_.

Jill wandered in halfway through the tour. They would have met her eventually; it was only a two bedroom apartment, but Jubilee knew Jill had come out looking for a glimpse of Logan. At least the girl had had the sense to give them a few minutes alone.

"So you must be Wolvie," Jill asked. Logan smiled a bit ruefully at the other girl's use of Jubilee's pet name for him. "Somehow I thought you'd be…"

"Taller?" Logan finished. He smiled in that charming way he reserved for people who he

didn't really care about but nevertheless wanted to like him. Contacts, informants, and apparently Jubilee's friends. Jubilee was flattered that he cared enough to try.

"Younger," Jill finished. Jubilee could have smacked her.

"Well, if it comes to that, I'm even older than I look. I'm Canadian…less UV exposure up there," Logan said. Jubilee looked at him with something akin to perplexity. She couldn't remember Logan speaking so much before. Maybe Jean's constant nagging had had a good effect on her husband's social skills.

"Interesting theory," Jill said. "So what are you kids up to tonight?"

Logan looked at Jubilee. "Have you eaten, darlin'? Should we stop somewhere before heading home?"

"Sounds good. I haven't eaten since lunch," Jubilee said.

"I better feed ya then. Yer a real pain when you don't eat," Logan said.

"Yeah, and you're a real prince when you're hungry Logan," Jubilee said. She had called him Logan without really thinking about it, and didn't know what it meant. Was it more mature than calling him Wolvie? Was it more personal, or less? While she was struggling to analyse why she had said what she said, she grudgingly decided that it didn't matter either way, because Logan hadn't noticed.

"Nice to meet ya," Logan said, reaching out to shake Jill's hand. Jill shook it, but not warmly. Jubilee bit back an angry remark at her friend. Jill shouldn't blame Wolvie for the fact that she was stuck on him. It wasn't his fault.

They were halfway to the jeep when Logan asked Jubilee if she had remembered her toothbrush, something she had constantly misplaced during their travels. She would have taken offence at the implied childishness his remarked placed on her, but it reminded her of old times. Besides, he was mostly joking anyway, and pretending that she had to go get her toothbrush meant she could finally vent her anger at Jill. Sure, it had only been about 30 seconds since she had started holding in her anger, but she was pyrotechnic. It wasn't healthy for her to hold in her anger.

"Did you have to be rude to him?" Jubilee said as she burst into the room.

"Jesus! You scared me," Jill said.

"What the hell is your problem? You acted like the Wolvster was going to rip off my clothes and ravish me as soon as we walked out the door. Well, it ain't going to happen. He's too honourable. Even if he was the unhappiest man on earth, he'd never cheat on her, let alone leave her," Jubilee said. As she said it she knew it was true, and her face fell. She looked at Jill and had the terrible satisfaction of winning the argument by convincing herself, for real this time, that she could never have the man she loved.

"I'm sorry, Jubes. I guess all I saw was a guy who had a lot of potential to hurt you," Jill

said.

"Its not his fault. They've been married for years, and I was just a kid before that. Its not like I could compete," Jubilee said.

"When you come back I'll set you up with someone. Someone really nice," Jill said.

"Okay. Thanks Jill," Jubilee said.

When she got to the car she was subdued, and she knew Logan could sense the difference.

"What's wrong darlin'?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Nothing. I just had a bit of a fight with Jill, that's all," Jubilee said.

"About me?" he asked. He was perceptive, and he could smell a lie. Jubilee had given up lying to him for a time, but she was going to give lies of omission a shot. Maybe that would work.

"About a guy I like. She doesn't think he's right for me," she said. Logan said nothing, and she hoped that he had bought it.

"A guy you like? What kind of guy is he?" he asked.

"Just, you know, a regular guy. I don't have a shot with him, though. He's involved with someone else. I would never do that," she said quickly.

Logan looked over at her. "I know you wouldn't. You don't have to tell me that. But sometimes you can't help the way you feel."

"Are you talking about the way you and Jean felt when she was still involved with Scott?" Jubilee asked.

"I was actually thinking of the way Scott feels about Jean," Logan said wryly.

Jubilee looked out the window to hide her shock. She and Logan were actually having an adult conversation. And about his marriage! Pity it had to come seconds after they had both agreed that she would never commit adultery.

"He hasn't, like, moved on?" Jubilee asked.

"He's had a few girlfriends. Nothing serious. Sometimes I worry about him…the way he talks about himself and Jean…"

"It can't be healthy, you all living in that house together," Jubilee said.

Logan sighed. "I'm sure you're right. If he had been living somewhere else, or if we had, he would have forgotten or at least gotten past it. She would have gotten past it."

"You don't think that Jean still has feelings for Scott, do you?" Jubilee asked. She couldn't believe that Logan was confiding in her so much. Then again, she was probably the best friend she had, except maybe Kurt, and he had his own problems these days.

"I think she'll always have feelings for him, but she's committed to me. Sometimes I wish she wasn't so committed to me," he said.

Jubilee felt like telling Logan to shut the hell up and stop saying things that would tempt her to do something stupid like kiss him. The only thing holding her back at the moment was that they were in a car on the freeway, and she'd probably get herself killed if she distracted the driver. She settled for saying, "Why would you say that?"

"I sometimes feel like she stays with me even though she doesn't want to. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't even see me anymore…not _me_, just some project she's taken on and refuses to give up on, no matter how irritating it is for her," Logan said.

"That's really sad," Jubilee said. As much as she coveted Jean's husband, it _was_ sad. She remembered how happy they had been on their wedding day: how hopeful. She hadn't been so bitter that she hadn't noticed them beaming at each other. She had never really had any intention of trying to steal Logan away, and the fact that their marriage wasn't working was actually a lot sadder than she had imagined it would be. Jubilee knew that right now Logan didn't need her to unload all her feelings at him; he just needed a friend.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw that all at you," he said, pulling into a parking spot.

"Logan, you know I'm always here for you. I want you to always know you can count on me. I know you don't have many close friends…frankly either do I. Jill doesn't even know I'm a mutant, and I spend more time with her than anyone once else at the moment. If you ever need to talk about this stuff…I'm here. I'll always be here for you," she said.

"Thanks Jubes. That's really nice of you, especially since I haven't always been there for you when you needed me. I'm sorry about that," he said.

"You don't have to apologise. You can't be everywhere at once, and I don't expect you to. When you were there you've never let me down. That's enough," she said.

When they sat down to dinner a comfortable silence hung over their table. They had bared their hearts, at least partially, and now they were happy with a minimum of talk. Jubilee was too thoughtful after everything Logan had said to chatter the way she usually did, and Logan wasn't one to make small talk to fill up the silence. She was surprised when he broke the silence.

"They'll be someone new at the mansion when you get there. A young girl. Storm, Jean and Scott went to pick her up this afternoon," he said.

"Why so many of them?" she asked.

Logan smiled at her tactical question. She didn't know why, but she had impressed him. "Her family has connections with the Friends of Humanity. Chuck thought it could go bad."

"Have you checked to make sure they're okay?" she asked.

Logan cocked his head thoughtfully, as though he was shocked at his oversight. "No, I haven't. Maybe I should check now," he said.

"I don't know why the professor insists on rewarding Wolverine's disobedience. He shouldn't have let him get out of this mission," Scott said.

"Scott, you aren't questioning the professor's authority, are you?" Storm asked with a hint of humour in her voice.

"You know that Logan would see not going on the mission as a punishment, not a reward," Jean said.

"Yeah, yeah, Logan's blood thirsty. I got the memo," Scott said.

Jean sighed, trying not to find Scott's increasingly acerbic humour attractive. When she'd been with him he had been complacent, almost smug. He had always done the right thing, and he didn't understand people who did things differently. She had thought that when she left him for Logan he would get over it; he would see that she was married and he would do the right thing and leave her alone. It seemed that the only thing Scott couldn't seem to do the right thing about was her, and as much as she liked to see him stepping out of his formerly rigid moral standpoint, she didn't want to force him to compromise himself.

Storm landed the Blackbird and they stepped out, looking at the house they had been sent to. The girl was in the shed out back, and so Jean and the others walked around the house to the shed. Scott gave a concentrated burst from his glasses and broke the lock.

"Heather? Are you there? We're here to help," Scott said.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Gun fire burst out and Jean used her telekinetic power to flatten herself and her team-mates close to the ground and then push them behind a small rock wall. Jean couldn't tell where the gunshots were located, but luckily they seemed imprecise and unprofessional. The gunshots stopped once they had found cover.

"Cyclops, Storm, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Storm said. Scott echoed her statement. "Is there really a girl here or was it all an ambush, Jean?"

The silence of the guns allowed Jean to focus her concentration and she scanned the minds around her. There was one gunman at the top of the hill and one in the shed itself. Logan would shake his head in disgust at their poor tactics, and their poor aim. Of course he probably would have smelled the ambush a mile away…in fact he had practically smelled it from Westchester. Jean forced thoughts of Logan out of her head and concentrated on finding the girl. She was there; she was scared and locked in the basement of the house. Her mother was watching her but wasn't a threat.

"Yes, Storm, there really is a girl. She's locked in the basement. Can you fly us out of here and over to the front of the house? There's a basement door in the garage we can get to if we're quick. I'll try to keep the bullets off us," she said.

"Yes of course," Storm said, "hold on to me."

Scott held one hand and Jean held the other. She could of course levitate herself, but it would take too much concentration, and she was concentrating on creating a psychic shield around them that she hoped could protect them from bullets. They floated over the house, either dodging bullets or deflecting them as they went. At the front of the house Storm and Cyclops followed Jean into the open garage and to the basement door she had seen in Heather's mother's mind. Scott broke the lock and plunged into the house, getting reckless with the need to get in and out before the two gunman got the nerve to follow them.

"Be careful Scott!" Jean said, forgetting to call him by his code name.

Scott looked back and nodded, moving towards the room she indicated. He opened the door and saw the mother. She rushed at him but Jean pushed her back using telekinesis. They opened the door and saw the girl crouched in fear amongst some old boots.

"Come with us, Heather, we're here to help you," Jean said. She spoke aloud and in the girl's mind, to let her know that she was a mutant, too. The girl turned her tear-stained face towards Jean and Jean felt her heart go out her. She reached out her hand and the girl took it, walking out of the room holding Jean's hand. She never once looked at her mother as she walked out of the room.

By the time the four of them had exited the house they were running. Jean scanned the area behind her and realized the gunmen were coming after them. "Hurry!" she said. Four people, especially four people scattered, were harder to protect than three people close together, and Jean's shield was sloppy. She hoped they would get back to the blackbird before the men caught up to them.

Jean let her shield slip further when she reached her telekinesis out to open the door of the blackbird. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Storm walk up the ramp, then pulled the uncomplaining girl up behind herself. She could hear Scott's step right behind her, but she didn't hear the gunshot until he had already fallen down.

"No!" she said. She pulled Scott all the way up the ramp using telekinesis and Storm closed the door.

"Is he alright?" Storm asked from the cockpit.

"Just get us out of here!" Jean said.

Jean looked at the gunshot that had torn through Scott's gut. She wished Logan were there; he knew more about gun wounds than she did. Jean pushed as hard as she could against the place where the blood was spurting out, trying to stop the bleeding. She felt a rush of relief as the Blackbird finally took flight. Heather was all but forgotten as Jean placed her head lightly on Scott's gently rising chest. "You have to be okay, Scott," Jean said, "you have to be."


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what's the word, Chuck?" Logan asked. He was talking on his cell phone. For some reason the thought of Logan with a cell phone made Jubilee vaguely uncomfortable, but he seemed to be able to work the thing better than she could. Well, she'd been telling people for years that he only _looked_ like a caveman.

Jubilee's thoughts were cut short when she saw Logan's face suddenly freeze and go pale.

"Who got hurt?" he said. Jubilee felt her face fall in a similar fashion.

"We'll be there soon," he said, hanging up the phone. Their meal hadn't arrived but Logan put enough money to cover it on the table anyway and started walking out. Jubilee followed him.

"Who got hurt?" she asked.

"Cyc. They just called in to say they needed a doctor waiting when they landed. Apparently he got shot. It was some stupid fluke; he got shot in the back," Logan said.

"Goddamned Friends of Humanity," Jubilee growled, and got in the car. Logan pulled out of the space and into traffic. He didn't comment on her profanity or her sentiment, and Jubilee realized he was probably thinking the same thing. They often thought alike, she realized. She wondered if Logan knew it. "He has to be okay," she said. "He couldn't go out this way, not with a bullet on some stupid easy mission."

"Every mission can kill ya, Jubes," Logan said. "Sometimes when you let your guard down, when you call it easy, that's when the shit hits the fan. Chuck said it was going to be easy. I told him never to say that."

"Superstitious much?" she asked. "The words you use can't determine what's going to happen."

"He could have told the team that the Friends of Humanity were involved. He could have had them wait for me," Logan said.

"Logan, you just said that any mission has the potential to go wrong. Chuck mighta made some bad calls, but no one can be right all the time," she said. She looked at Logan as he drove quietly. "You're just upset because you wish you'd been there. You blame yourself."

Logan expelled his breath slowly. "You know me too well, Jubes. I shoulda been there. If I'd pushed it, I would have been. I coulda just told Chuck I didn't need to talk to him…that we didn't have time and I would trust his judgement on the mission."

"Logan, what I said about Charles…it goes for you, too. Maybe not going on the mission was the wrong thing to do, but maybe your presence wouldn't have made a difference either way. If three professional X-Men had a fluke bad mission, maybe four would have one, too. Stop beating yourself up. You won't do anyone any good that way. Think of what Cyc and Jean need from you," Jubilee said.

"Okay, Jubes. You know, its good to have you around, Darlin'. Yer good for me," he said. He looked over at her, and she thought too many of her real feelings might have shown on her face at that moment, because he looked away quickly, and turned his eyes steadily to the road.

"You're good for me, too," Jubilee said quietly enough that he could pretend not to hear. He made no reply, but she knew that he'd heard her.

By the time Logan and Jubilee pulled up to the mansion, they had been in mental contact with the Professor and knew that Scott had been stabilized. He was going to be okay, if he made it through the night.

Jubilee hugged most of the people that were milling around the common room. Most of the denizens of the mansion had returned when they heard the awful news, so she had a lot of people to hug. None of the reunions seemed particularly happy, though, and Logan left her to it.

He went to the Medlab, where Hank and a doctor Logan didn't know were consulting. Jean was waiting outside the door, staring through the window with a desperate look on her tear-streaked face.

"Jean," Logan said quietly. She turned to him and he wrapped his arms around her, surprised that he felt the compassion of a friend who sees another friend in pain and nothing more when he held her in his arms. Logan pushed the thought away and held onto his wife.

"I don't know what happened. It wasn't supposed to happen--none of this. You were right. It started to go bad before we even got there. We went in blind. I should have scanned the area. Its all my fault," she said.

"The way I heard it it was a fluke. Scotty got shot in the back when you thought you were safe. It wasn't going in blind that hurt him," Logan said.

"We were off-guard. If we had known that the Friends of Humanity were involved, that there was that possibility--" she began. When she saw the look on his face she invaded his mind and found the answer she was looking for immediately. "He knew! You were right, he was holding something back! Why didn't he tell us? Why didn't you radio us to tell us? What, did you want this to happen? Eliminates the competition, doesn't it?"

"I didn't know he was still in the running," Logan said.

Jean was livid, but she realized what she had said. "He's not. You know that. But you should have told us."

"I trusted Chuck. He only gave me the information he had at the time. Jean, it was a trap. I know Chuck is powerful, but someone must have somehow manipulated the images, made it seem as though something different from the reality was going on. That's possible, isn't it?" he asked, knowing full-well that it was.

"I suppose. It was a trap, certainly…I wondered how Charles managed to mentally let go of the stepfather long enough for him to find the key, move Heather and plan an ambush. I suppose there would have to be a certain amount of psychic manipulation involved."

"I can't think of anyone that powerful," Logan said.

"I can't think of another mutant. Besides, how could the Friends of Humanity persuade a mutant to help them?" Jean asked.

"I'm living proof that mutants can be manipulated," Logan said darkly.

"I suppose you're right," Jean said. She went back to staring wistfully into the room where her former lover lay prone on the bed, and Logan knew she was scanning for any stray thoughts from Scott. Logan turned away and went to the next room, grabbing a couple of chairs for himself and Jean. He put them down and she looked at him gratefully.

"You're wonderful," she said. He knew she meant that he was wonderful for understanding why she cared so deeply for a man other than her husband. He knew this wasn't the time to tell her that he understood how she felt about Scott because he felt like they'd had a three-way marriage from the start. Any arguments they had she went to Scott for comfort or support. It was friendship on her side, love on his. In fact, when he really thought about it, he had to admit it had probably been love on her side, too. Maybe she just hadn't realized that what she felt for Logan was passion, not love. That the support, the friendship and caring she shared with Scott was something she had never given to or received from Logan, as much as he had tried to be that person for her.

Logan was a lot older than Jean, and he knew although she would probably discover this on her own eventually, he didn't want her to have to wait until it was too late. Until Scott actually did marry some other girl, or died on some mission. They couldn't go on in this marriage just because it was the polite, the honourable thing to do. Jean would see that, if he told her the right way.

Logan looked at his hands, hoping that he wasn't just rationalizing because the thought of being out of the marriage felt so right to him. Ever since that talk with Cyc--and then the discussion with Jubilee in the car--he couldn't get away from the fact that he wanted a divorce. Every time he thought about it, he became more certain. It was like the first time you say a bad word and it sounds so _bad_, but the next time doesn't have as much impact, and by the third time its just another word.

After an hour they let Jean in to sit beside Scott's bed; he was doing much better. Logan wondered about the way everyone was treating Jean through all of this. It was like their whole marriage was being ignored, as if she were still Scott's sweetheart, and Logan had never arrived to interfere in all of that. If it hadn't seemed so right, even to Logan, he would have been offended.

On his way to his bedroom Logan stopped by the common room to see who was up. Jubilee was curled up on the sofa, looking like a child once more. Logan smiled as he looked at her, thinking that it was nice to see her that way again, if only for a moment. He liked her grown-up; he liked the fact that he could confide in her and listen to her talk about classes and get excellent advice from her. It was amazing to think that just ten years ago she been a little kid, and she'd saved him even then. Actually she hadn't changed that much; just her driver's license said something different and other people treated her like an adult now. Logan hoped he'd always treated her like an adult. He'd always thought if Jubilee growing up meant she lost her caring and empathy and incredible compassion, he preferred that she stayed a child forever. Luckily she still retained all those qualities that made her so unique, in spite of all the horrible things that had happened to her.

"Jubes?" he said. He knelt down beside the sofa and reached out and caressed her cheek gently. She opened her eyes and looked at him with naked affection, and he was forced for the second time to acknowledge that the girl was probably in love with him. The first time had been back in the car when she had said that he was good for her. He knew better. He wasn't good for anyone. Jean had thought she was in love with him, too, and it turned out thatall her decision to be with him had done was waste a few years and provide him with a little bit of false happiness.

Jubilee masked the look quickly, but nevertheless twisted her body to give him a hug. He returned her embrace, finding that in spite of his determination not to give her any encouragement he held her several moments longer than necessary. He knew in that moment that if he was selfish he would want to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He's going to pull through, they say. Jean's with him," he said. For the first time someone actually reacted to how strange that news was. Jubilee cocked her head and screwed up her face.

"Does she realize that she's your wife, not his?" she asked. He didn't say anything, and she put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. There's time enough for that stuff when we're all healthy."

"Honestly, it's nice to know that someone else remembers that fact other than me," he said. He smiled. "I'm dealing with it."

"Either Jean really has changed you or there's something else going on here. I can't believe you're not tearing things up," Jubilee said.

"I'm trying to take your advice. Doing what's best for everybody. Besides, I think my marriage is over. No use getting upset about it--its no one's fault. I don't even really know what happened. Part of it was having Scott nearby. Part of it was Jean trying to change me. When it comes to that, I even tried to change Jean a little. We weren't right for each other, and we tried to fix each other so we were. It didn't work. I don't feel the same way I used to about her. I don't love her. I can't even begin to imagine how I could love her again. I care about her--but that's it," Logan said.

Jubilee looked at Logan intently. "You're tired. Maybe you'll feel differently in the morning."

"Maybe. Were you waiting up for news?" Logan asked, changing the subject.

"I was waiting up for you," she said.

Logan was still kneeling by the sofa, and Jubilee slid off the sofa and embraced him fully this time, crushing her body to him. She kissed his neck softly and nuzzled her nose in his collar bone. "I love you," she said. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, and Logan knew she saw desire there.

"You better go on up to bed," Logan said. She nodded and slipped away.

Logan turned towards the fireplace, watching the flames as he listened to Jubilee's soft footfalls. He glanced over when he heard her steps falter, and saw Jean standing outside the room. Jean glared at Jubilee and watched every step she took up the stairs, but she didn't say a word.

"I'm glad you sent her packing," Jean said. At that moment Logan knew Jean hadn't heard what he had just said about wanting a divorce. All she had seen was the fact that he sent Jubes upstairs alone. Jean was lashing out again. "What is that girl thinking! Coming after you when my best friend is nearly dying. The slut!"

Logan wanted to defend Jubilee, but he didn't want to make the situation any worse. He just wanted to get Jean to sleep and end this night forever. He hadn't done much that he could be proud of so far, and he hoped he could do better in the morning.

"You need some sleep. The kid's just tired, don't worry about it," he said.

Jubilee was stretching her recent adulthood to the limit. She had heard Logan's comment as he put his arm around Jean and led her to bed. She had faith in Logan, that he was trying to do what was best for everyone, but she hoped that wouldn't involve him staying in a loveless marriage for any longer than necessary. Even if he was never Jubilee's man, she hated to think of him with Jean. Jean and Logan were both great people, but they didn't make each other better. Logan was diminished in the relationship--she'd even made him quit smoking cigars. Jean was probably diminished by the relationship, too, but Jubilee didn't really know enough about her to make that call. It couldn't be very conducive to growth as a human being to be married to one man while the one you really love looks on.

Jubilee had no doubt that Scott was the one that Jean really loved. There was something about the way they interacted; they brought out the best in each other. Some people, like Emma Frost, would say that Jean brought out the best in Logan, but Jubilee thought that it was more like Logan was a wild beast that didn't take well to domestication. He certainly had had a wild, caged look in his eyes lately. Wolverines in the wild were solitary creatures and were cunning enough that trappers had to design special traps to catch them or else they would just steal the food without tripping the mechanism. Jubilee supposed Logan had entered this particular trap by choice. Of course Logan wasn't really an overgrown weasel…but he must have taken the name for a reason; because he felt some kinship to the creature sometimes called 'Devil Bear'.

Jubilee had planned on staying at the mansion for a few days, but now she thought she would have to go home. There was no way she wanted to involve herself anymore than she already had in Logan and Jean's break-up. Of course, she had only been allowed to travel because Logan had escorted her, and_that_ wasn't going to happen, now. Maybe now that Gambit and Rogue were back from their holiday they could take her home.

Jubilee went to see the professor about going back to New York city in the morning. He didn't understand why she wanted to come and go so quickly, so she tried her best to explain.

"Well, I guess I just feel like I'm sort of in the way with all this Scott getting hurt stuff," she said.

"Is that truly how you feel? Your presence is a great comfort to the team," Charles said.

"Yeah, maybe some of them. But I'm just annoying Jean, and I just want to get out of her hair for a bit. There's only a few weeks until I graduate…I promise I'll come back to the mansion as planned then."

"Annoying Jean?" Charles asked. Obviously he had been staying out of people's heads lately.

"She thinks I'm trying to steal her husband," Jubilee blurted out. She had the satisfaction of seeing him more surprised than a mind-reader had any right to be.

"Logan?" Charles asked, his normally tranquil voice sounding strange with an edge of surprise.

"No, her other husband, Scott," Jubilee said dryly.

"Are you saying that something's going on between--"

"--none of us. There's nothing going on between any of us, except Logan and Jean. Jean just saw me hug Logan in a…well, pretty friendly way," Jubilee said.

"I knew that Logan seemed unhappy, but he never wanted to talk about it. Jean must be devastated," the professor said.

"She's more mad than devastated. And at me, not at Logan. Logan thinks she's still in love with Scott. But he hasn't told her any of this…he thinks he should wait until Scott's better and everything cools down. That's why I have to get away. Things can't cool down if I'm here. Logan cares about me, and now that Jean knows how I feel about Logan she'll pick at me and pick at me, and Logan will only be able to take that for so long. I'm not saying he's in love with me or anything, but…god, I'm sorry Professor. I didn't mean to just spill like that. It's probably bad enough that you can read everyone's mind without people just coming into your office and telling you all their personal business," Jubilee said.

"It's probably better that I know," Charles said.

"Well, sorry, I guess. I bet you'll think twice before you invite me back here again," Jubilee said.

"Sometimes people who stir up trouble can be a blessing in disguise, Jubilation. They push people out of their own complacency, and force them to make decisions that they might otherwise be too afraid to make. Logan and Jean could have gone on the way they have been for a lot longer without your presence here. I think you ground Logan somehow," Charles said.

"I don't know. He's said that before. I think I just love him the way he is. Maybe knowing that lets him be himself," Jubilee said.

"You've grown up a lot, my dear," Charles said. "I hope the mansion will be a happier place when you return."

"Me too," Jubilee said.


	4. Chapter 4

Logan stood in front of the gorgeous array in front of him, not knowing which of the beauties to chose from. He felt like a starving man suddenly placed before a banquet.

"I can't decide," he finally said. "Choose for me."

The clerk chose the most expensive box of cigars, and Logan sighed in satisfaction. This was going to be beautiful. Cigars. Whiskey. Possibly some cards or pool. It was good to be back.

Logan was collecting his change when his cell phone rang. Somehow that phone annoyed him more than anything else. Why should a man who hated being at the mercy of a telephone at home carry one around with him? He took the phone out of his pocket and saw his wife's name on the screen. He closed the phone.

"Want a cell phone?" he asked the clerk.

"Who was that, your wife?" the clerk asked.

"How did you know?" Logan asked, handing the phone to the clerk.

"Something about the cigar business…most customers who come back, come back without their wives. You seem a lot happier than most," the clerk said.

"I reckon I like cigars a lot more than most," he said, giving the clerk a rare smile.

Later Logan sat on the patio with Remy and Rogue, who had just returned from taking Jubilee home. They were smoking the fine cigars and drinking whiskey, and playing a little Yuker.

"Logan?" Jean asked. "I tried calling you earlier--are you smoking?"

"Yep. Sorry 'bout that phone darlin', lost it somewhere," he said.

"Since when do you smoke cigars?" Jean asked.

"I thought better of quitting. I decided it wasn't really what I wanted," Logan said.

"You quit years ago!" Jean said.

"Its never too late to start again," Logan said.

"Can I talk to you?" Jean asked. "Its about Scott."

"Sure," Logan said. He followed his wife through the kitchen and up the stairs into the rooms they shared.

"What is it, Darlin'?"

"Scott is doing much better, and I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't say anything to upset him."

"I haven't even seen him. How could I upset him?" Logan asked.

"I want you to see him," she said.

"Why, to remind the both of you that you actually have a husband?" Logan asked.

"What! Logan, you're the one I found rolling around on the ground with a teenager," Jean said.

"She only hugged me for Chrissake!" Logan said. "And she ain't a teenager."

"She hugged you and told you that she loved you," Jean said.

"Its not her fault she feels that way. She's always felt that way about me, even when she _was_ a teenager. I thought she'd get over it after we were married…" Logan said. He looked at Jean pointedly. "You know, the way you thought Scott would get over you."

"Scott's very vulnerable at the moment," Jean said. "He can't be held responsible for his actions. Jubilee, however, was taking advantage of my distraction to try to seduce you."

"You didn't hear the whole conversation, obviously," Logan said. "I told her…I told her that I thought our marriage was over. She told me I might feel differently in the morning. I didn't."

"What?" Jean said. She sat down on the bed, an expression of shock on her face. "I don't understand."

"Maybe you should…read my mind. I know I've kept you from doing that. That was probably wrong. I mean, you should have a partner that loves your gift as much as they love you. Darlin', I ain't bitter. I don't hate you, and I ain't angry. Just read my mind," Logan said.

Jean nodded, and closed her eyes. Logan could feel her in there, examining his feelings for her. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she found something that annoyed or shocked her. He was sure that she was looking at his feelings for Jubilee. When she opened her eyes, there was acceptance there.

"I should have done this a long time ago. Maybe then we could have made some kind of a compromise," she said.

"I just don't think we're right for each other. I think you love Scott more than you realize," he said.

"I know you think that," Jean said. Her luminous eyes filled with tears. "I think maybe your sense of honour is offended at the thought of stealing a girl away from someone you now consider a friend. It would help you out, help you out of this marriage if you thought I was supposed to be with him."

"He's your best friend," Logan said. He couldn't believe that he was trying to convince his wife she was in love with another man. This was probably the most surreal conversation he'd ever had.

"Just because you're in love with your best friend doesn't mean that I am," she said.

"I'm not in love with Jubilee," he said.

"No, you're not. I hurt you too much," she said, the tears spilling over her eyes. "But you will be, when you learn to trust women again."

"You didn't hurt me. We hurt each other. I should have known better. I'm a lot older than you, but obviously no wiser," Logan said. "Tell me you aren't just a little relieved."

Jean began to cry in earnest, and Logan was worried that he had misjudged her feelings for Scott. Finally she looked Logan in the eye. "I hate to be wrong," she said, "I didn't want to admit that I'd made a mistake. I thought it was okay because you seemed to need me more than he did."

Logan sighed. Even though it was the answer he wanted, needed to hear, it still hurt. "I can be pretty convincing," he said.

Jean laughed, a free, open laugh he hadn't heard in his presence in a long time. "I do love you, you know," she said. She hugged him closely, and Logan tried to memorize the feeling of her in his arms, because it could be the last time.

He knew she loved him, in a way. Just not the way she loved Scott, or the way Scott loved her. And certainly not the way Logan had loved her.

"Good morning, Heather," Jean said to the adolescent as she sat down at breakfast. The older woman looked worn and tired, but happier than she had in a long time. Heather admired Jean, but she worried that Jean didn't like her because Jean's friend Scott had been hurt saving her from her family.

"Morning," she said shyly. Although she had been at the mansion for about a week she still felt no closer to getting to know everyone there. There were so many of them, and they were all so…loud. Jean's husband was a bit scary, but it was always quiet near him, as aside from the occasional grunt he had never said a word to her.

The two Southerners, Gambit and Rogue, seemed nice enough but occasionally became explosive. It was safer to sit as far away from them as possible. Now that Scott was better, maybe she could spend some time with Jean.

Heather struggled to think of something to say to Jean. "Do you have any plans today?" she asked.

"I'm going into town to see a lawyer," she said. "Just taking care of some business. Do you want to come with me? I could drop you off at the mall."

"Think that's wise, Jean?" Rogue asked from the far end of the table. "What about the Friends of Humanity?"

Jean pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You're probably right, Rogue," she said. "Maybe Logan will take you for a walk around the grounds. He knows them better than anyone, and he's friendlier than he looks."

"What'd ya'll need a lawyer for, sug?" Rogue asked.

Jean blushed slightly and glanced around the room furtively before answering. "I'm filing for divorce," she said.

All activity stopped. Heather was amazed that Jean had just spoken in such a wife-like way about Logan, knowing she was about the get a divorce from him.

"What happened, chere?" Gambit asked, his voice sympathetic.

"Nothing happened. We just realized that it wasn't working out," Logan said from the doorway. He sat down beside Heather, across from Jean.

The people gathered around the table looked in awe at Jean and Logan as they smiled in a friendly, if hesitant fashion at each other and then dug into their breakfast.

"Logan, I was wondering if you wanted to show Heather the grounds today," Jean said. "She hasn't really had a chance to do anything fun with all the chaos surrounding Scott's injury."

"Sure thing, Red," Logan said. He looked at Heather. "You up for a long walk?"

"Okay," Heather said. He didn't seem like he was on the edge of a nervous breakdown or anything, although most of the time people getting divorced on movies freaked out and stuff.

"How is Scott, anyway?" Logan asked.

The activity around the table quieted so much that it was nearly silent, and Heather realized for the first time that there must be something going on between Jean and Scott. Or at least most of the other members of the household thought so.

"He's leaving the medlab today," Jean said. "He's thinking of going on a holiday. Hank is going to Hawaii to study wave patterns he thought he might join him."

"Wave patterns, eh? I reckon Hank'd look pretty good on a surf board," Logan said.

Jean laughed softly, and the table went back to its normal level of volume.


	5. Chapter 5

Jubilee hadn't kept her promise to the professor to come home after graduation. She had only seen Logan and the others when they came to her University graduation ceremony. They had had a friendly dinner, and she had gone back to her apartment. Her excuse was that she and Jill had the lease until the end of the summer so she might as well stay for the extra four months, and she had tried to make the most of the time. She and Jill had worked crappy jobs and partied as hard as possible, and soon the summer was over. Jubilee had been floundering all summer trying to decide what to do with her life.

"So, what are you going to do with your highly useful degree in pure math?" Jill asked.

"I think I'll go work for the professor," Jubilee said. "At least until I think of something better."

"I knew it. To the cult you go. Do not pass go, do not collect 200$, go directly to the infamous mansion," Jill said.

"Its nothing like jail. I can leave anytime I want. Before Logan was married he used to come and go as he pleased. Others, too…its just like a community of people who--"

"Oh I get it. It's a _commune_ not a cult. Sure. Just don't drink any Kool-Aid," Jill said.

"Whatever. What school did you end up accepting again?" Jubilee asked.

Jill was headed to teacher's training, and had contemplated schools from New York to New Zealand. "I'm going to the school in Rochester."

"Close to me! You'll have to come visit me sometime," Jubilee said.

"Do cults allow that?" Jill asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. She glanced around the apartment. "God, this place is going to be a pain to pack up."

"Maybe we should hire someone to do it," Jubilee said with distaste. The apartment had two years of clutter and accumulated knick-knacks.

Both women looked up as a knock sounded on their door. Jill answered it, and when Jubilee heard the voice behind the door she got up and yanked it open, yelling, "Wolvie!"

She bounded into his arms, and even Jill had to smile at how happy her friend was.

"Hey Darlin'. How are ya?" Logan asked.

"Super! I was just telling Jill that I decided to move back to the mansion at the end of the summer. Unless you think that's a bad idea," she said quickly, remembering the look on Jean's face that night.

"No, it's a good idea. If that's what you want. I won't be there for a few weeks--" Logan began, and Jubilee finally realized that they were having a pretty important discussion in the doorway, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, sitting him down on the sofa.

"Why? Where are you going?" she asked.

"You remember the last time I was here, and that girl came to live with us?" Logan said. His speech was veiled because of Jill's presence, but Jubilee knew what he was talking about.

"Yep," she said.

"Well, that little girl is kind of in danger. Her parents were abusive," he said by way of explanation to Jill. She nodded but didn't ask any questions. Jubilee had a feeling that Jill suspected something about Jubilee and her family anyway. "I'm taking her on a trip to the Canadian Rockies. I think she'll like it, cause she's been cooped up so long, and she's never seen the mountains."

"So, you came to like, say goodbye?" Jubilee asked. She couldn't help but feel a little replaced by this girl, Heather.

"No. I was wondering if you wanted to come. Its just for a couple of weeks. Nothing that exciting…just hiking, maybe some canoeing and fishing…interested?" he asked.

Jubilee didn't know what to say. Was this a first date? If so, it seemed awfully long and…crowded. Jubilee knew that he and Jean had started the process of divorcing, but she couldn't take that as an indication that he wanted to date _her_. She thought he probably just missed her, the same way she had missed him. Finally she smiled. "Sounds good. I'm in like Flynn."

"We're going to take the Jeep. I'll come back in a couple of days and pick you up," he said. For the first time he looked around, and noticed the empty boxes in the corner. "Will that be enough time for you to get everything packed up?"

"Oh God! I have no idea," Jubilee said, looking around the apartment with disgust. She decided to change the subject. "Tell me about this girl, Heather. What's she like?"

"She's really shy. Her parents hurt her a lot, and she finds it hard to make friends. She hardly talks at all. She really likes reading, though," Logan said.

"Why is it that the most damaged people always gravitate to you?" Jubilee asked.

"I dunno, birds of a feather, I suppose," he said. He looked around again, as if he was becoming more and more concerned. "Do ya want me to stick around and help out? Never hurts to have someone extra around to do some of the heavy lifting."

Jubilee looked at Jill, and she shrugged, indicating that she didn't care one way or the other. "Are you sure Logan? I know you're big and brave and all, but we might NEVER get finished."

"Why not?" Logan said. His face held his formerly characteristic, arrogant grin for the first time that Jubilee could remember in years. "I've never backed away from a challenge."

Logan was surprisingly good at packing, for someone with relatively few possessions. It helped that he encouraged the girls to get rid of things they didn't need, something that was hard for Jubilee but strangely cleansing. His military background helped him a lot, Jubilee suspected. All that organization experience, or something. Logan stayed in the apartment over night, but never gave Jubilee any indication that he was interested in her. He slept on the sofa.

Jubilee gave all the furniture that Jill didn't want to the Salvation Army. Chuck had cooler furniture that what she had been able to afford, and what she had wasn't worth the money to put it into storage. When they had finally purged the apartment of all their stuff and gave it a quick cleaning, Jubilee had reduced her worldly possessions to three boxes that presently sat in the back of Logan's Jeep.

"Bye, Jill. You were a cool roommate," she said, giving the girl a hug.

"You were too, Jubilee. Thanks for, you know, getting out of the shower every once and a while," Jill said, referring to the fact that Jill had been constantly annoyed by the lengthy showers her roommate had taken.

"Even I can't shower all the time," Jubilee said. "Come visit me! Promise?"

"I'll visit you if you visit me," Jill said. "See ya soon. My parents are going to be here any minute to pick me up."

"Kay. Bye," Jubilee said.

When Logan and Jubilee were in the car driving away Logan turned to Jubilee.

"Are you sad that you're leaving?" he asked.

"A little bit. I mean, being a student is so great. You mostly attend classes for only a few hours a week, you drink, you socialize…there is like, no responsibility. Most people my age are still going to give themselves a good year more of irresponsibility before they decide what they really want to do with their lives. I'm going right on into adulthood. It's a little scary to think about going into the superhero business full time. After what happened to Scott--I mean, I'm not a little kid anymore. I know the risk I'll be taking now," Jubilee said.

"You took on a lot of adult responsibility when you were really young. If you want to goof off for a couple more years, I'm sure no one'll mind," Logan said. He paused. "When it comes to that, Jubes, no one says you have to be an X-Man. Just because its what you've always known, it doesn't mean that you _have_ to do it."

Jubilee looked over at Logan, surprised. "Don't you want me to be an X-Man?" she asked.

"Of course I want you to be an X-Man. I'm proud that you want to take on that responsibility; that you care enough to make that sacrifice. I'm even prouder that you've kept fit and when we evaluated you this Christmas both physically and ability-wise you were seen to be ready to be a team member. I just care about you more as a person than as a member of the team. If you want to do something else with your life, if that would make you happy, you should do it."

"Okay. I'll think about it," Jubilee said. She looked out the window. They should be at the mansion in about twenty minutes. Her thoughts turned to Heather again. "What does this girl do, exactly? She _is_ a mutant, right?"

"Its a psychic thing. Chuck or Jean could tell you the technical aspects of it, but basically she can project things she's experienced onto others to make them feel like they're experiencing it, too," Logan began. "For instance, that whole confusion with the mission last spring was inadvertently her fault. She can't communicate telepathically, but she projected the experience she had had as strongly as she could, and Chuck picked it up. Probably a lot of humans around her did, too, but Chuck was the only one at the mansion strong enough to get it at such a distance. What was really happening changed; she left the shed behind her house and hid in a closet in the basement, and then her mother found her, but since she was so scared she was still projecting the same experience from before."

"And that was why Jean thought that Heather was still in the shed," Jubilee said.

"Yep."

"So she can't project any image she wants. Just things that actually happened to her," Jubilee said.

"Chuck things that might change as she gets older. But even now its kind of an effective weapon. She can select what memories to project, and since even as a young girl she's had some pretty bad experiences, she can reduce people to tears in the middle of a fight. It might not work on some people, but she's training with Chuck to see how far they can take it. The more experiences she has, the more she can use them against other people."

"Has she ever used it on you?" Jubilee asked.

"Yeah. That's why I said it might not work on some people. I was concentrating on the battle simulation, and I thought the memory she threw at me was just one of mine coming back, and I pushed it out of my mind without even thinking about it," he said. He glanced over at Jubilee. "I didn't even know she'd done it."

"That's kind of scary. Makes you think that--"

"--That Sabertooth was right and I could have my memories back if I didn't keep repressing them? Yeah, I know," Logan said. He sounded tense so Jubilee didn't push it.

They were approaching the mansion. Jubilee thought again about Jean. Although the woman had attended her graduation, and been as nice as ever, Jubilee was afraid to see her alone. "Does Jean still think I'm a slut?" she asked.

"No. I don't think so. That was a confusing time. I probably shouldn't have brought you back to the mansion that day, knowing everything that was going on when just about everyone else was in the dark about something. I should have known better," he said.

"What do you mean, you knew everything?"

"I knew how I felt about Jean, but Jean and Scott didn't. I knew how Jean felt about Scott, but Jean didn't know I knew. I also knew how you felt about me, although you tried hard to hide it," Logan said.

"Dude, that was a statement worthy of me," Jubilee said. She didn't mention the fact that he also knew how he felt about her, although she was still in the dark about that. Well, she refused to dwell on it. It was enough for her that he was single, and not being turned into some Scott-wannabe by Jean. "So, she's okay with the divorce and everything?"

"Yeah. As okay as you can be. Even though we both know its right, its hard to give up on the idea of a marriage. To admit that you failed at keeping this person happy, and to know that as much you loved each other at first, sometimes love isn't enough. Its depressing," he said.

"Is she seeing Scott?" Jubilee asked.

"No," Logan said. He smiled sadly. "That's partially why I want to go away. I think it'll be easier for everyone if they start dating again while I'm not here, and by the time I come back they're just a couple. I'm sure it'll happen."

"I thought we were only going for a couple of weeks. They're not going to be a couple that soon, are they?" Jubilee asked.

"I won't put it past them," Logan said, "but that's not what I meant. I wanted to spend some time with you before I left, so if you didn't want to come with me and Heather I would have only gone back to the mansion for a few days. I'm taking off for a while after that."

"Where are you going?" Jubilee asked.

"Don't know yet," Logan said. "It sure as shit won't be boring, though."

Jubilee smiled a Logan, thinking that her Wolvie was back. She didn't say anything though, thinking he probably knew without being told how far his marriage had taken him from who he really was. She instead turned her face towards the scenery, waiting to arrive at the mansion and trying to think of some subtle way to invite herself along on Logan's trip.


	6. Chapter 6

Jubilee was sitting in the front seat. Even if she was technically tagging along on a trip that would have happened even if she hadn't agreed to come, she deserved to ride shotgun if only because of seniority. The thought of seniority made Jubilee look back at Heather rather fondly. If nothing else, she _was_ younger than Jubilee.

The girl was asleep, her neck twisted in an uncomfortable-looking position. She wasn't exactly pretty, although she might become pretty one day. She had a lanky awkward teenaged body and would probably be taller than both Jubilee and Wolverine one day. Her hair was a mousey dirty-blond colour that really should be softened by highlights, Jubilee thought. She should probably take the girl under her wing. Jubilee might not exactly be most people's idea of a fashion guru, but she was the closer in age to the young girl than anyone else currently residing at the mansion. She would have to do something about Heather's chronic lack of style before the girl was shipped off to whatever Jr. X-Men program Chuck was currently endorsing.

If she got to stay at the mansion for her whole teenaged years, Jubilee would be _seriously_ pissed.

"Why are we driving through the States?" Jubilee asked.

"Its easier this way, I reckon. If you go West via Ontario you have go pretty far up North. Its not the most direct route, although its pretty. We'll be to the border soon," Logan said.

"How do we even get her over the border?" Jubilee asked. It was the first time it had occurred to her. "The kid's a minor. She needs like, a passport and her guardian's permission to enter a foreign country or something, doesn't she?"

"Chuck is her guardian," Logan said.

"How did he manage that?" Jubilee asked.

"I don't know, Jubes. I never questioned him too closely on that one. I have a feeling it might have something to do with his ability to control people's minds," he said. Jubilee felt an odd moment of disquiet thinking of Chuck using his mind-control abilities in that way. She shook the feeling away and reminded herself that the girl needed protection.

Jubilee looked out the window. The prairies were singularly uninteresting, but it was better than looking at the dashboard and remembering for the zillionth time that she had forgotten to bring her favourite Cds. Suddenly she rounded on Logan.

"You didn't have anything to do with me forgetting my Cds, did you?" she asked.

Logan grimaced slightly. "What do you mean? How could I possibly make you forget?"

"Maybe you couldn't. But Jean could. And she doesn't like my music either, so she might actually do it," Jubilee said.

Logan looked at Jubilee, his eyes dancing but his expression remaining grim. "You're getting paranoid, doll. Maybe you've been cooped up in this car too long."

"Doll? What is this, the forties? Are you a gangster now?" Jubilee asked, her voice shrill.

Logan had apparently seen that Heather was awake in the rear-view mirror, because he glanced behind at the girl and said, "Sorry if we woke you up. Its probably for the best, though, cause we're almost to the border, and we might have to talk to officials there."

"That's okay," Heather said sleepily. "I could hear you two talking. I've never heard you talk this much, Logan."

Logan just smiled. Jubilee felt a little miffed that Heather was calling Logan by his first name when Jubilee took her own use of Logan rather than Wolvie to be a sign of her maturity. Well, then again, its not like Jubilee had called Logan Mr. Logan or Sir or something. A pet name meant history and familiarity, not necessarily immaturity.

And the fact remained that whenever Logan put on his uniform he was Wolvie again to her.

Heather was putting her seatbelt on when they approached the Canadian border. They had to go through American customs first, and Logan slowed the car down to talk to the officer standing by the side of the road.

"Hello, sir," Logan said.

"Do you three have passports?" the man asked. They nodded but he didn't ask to see them. "Do you have any outstanding warrants against you in the United States of America?" he continued.

"Nope," Logan said, and Heather and Jubilee also answered negatively.

The officer looked at Heather curiously, and then moved to the back of the jeep. "Could you step out of the vehicle, young lady?" he asked.

Jubilee glanced at Logan to see that he had tensed significantly. Nothing that the officer would notice, but enough for someone who knew him as well as Jubilee did to feel a rush of adrenaline. He had to get out of the jeep to allow Heather out as the jeep was only a two-door, and he got out with the deliberate care of someone who is trying hard to control their temper. Jubilee knew what he was really trying to control was his instinct to drive away or lash out at the border-guard. Jubilee might not be able to smell danger like Logan, but the tension was coming off of him in waves.

"Could you get out of the vehicle as well, Miss?" the guard asked Jubilee.

"Of course," she said.

Jubilee glanced around as she exited the vehicle. There were several cars that were being diverted around their jeep and let through to the Canadian side. What the hell did the border patrol think that they had done?

"Are the two of you this girl's parents?" the guard asked.

Jubilee gasped with indignation and nearly bit the guy's head off for implying she was actually old enough to have given birth to a teenager. The look on Logan's face was all that stopped her. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, allowing Logan to do the talking for once.

"We're not her parents, but we have her guardian's permission to take her out of the country," Logan said. "The document that proves it is in Heather's passport."

The man took Heather's passport out of her hands and looked at the piece of paper that Charles had signed. "This paper is dated three days ago," he said.

"We've been on the road," Logan said.

"The girl, Heather Fodderstompf, is no longer under the legal guardianship of Charles Xavier. It has been contested in the courts. Since custody is in question, she can't leave the country," the man said.

"How on earth? Wait a minute…Thousands of children get kidnapped each year and no one stops the people doing that, but you're up to date on each aspect of Heather's custody situation? What the hell?" Jubilee asked.

She looked over at Logan. He nodded in the direction of a man wearing sunglasses just inside the building. She wondered if he was an officer of the court or a Friend of Humanity. Probably both. "How did they know?" she whispered as the officer spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"I don't know. This was a rotten idea. The American Rockies are just as nice," Logan muttered in return.

Jubilee put a comforting hand on the girl's arm, noticing that she seemed scared. As much as Jubilee wanted to resent the younger girl, she couldn't dislike her, especially when she seemed to be as much a target as Jubilee ever was.

"What should we do?" Jubilee asked.

"We can't exactly attack this guy," Logan said. "He has our passports. We'd be fugitives."

"So this is why you usually travel under an alias," Jubilee muttered, thinking of their travels when he had gone under the name Patch.

"Miss, I'm sorry, you have to go back to your parents," the officer said after a consultation with the person on the other side of his walkie-talkie.

The girl panicked. Jubilee put a protective arm around her as Heather clung to her weakly. "I can't go back! They tried to kill me!" she said.

The guard looked alarmed by her statement. Jubilee seized the opportunity to try to convert the guard to their point of view. "It's true. I can't imagine what court would allow her back with those people. They made her life a living hell. She's happier living with us and we aren't even family."

"Maybe if we call the local police they can sort this out. If the parents aren't suitable she should be in temporary foster care," the guard said.

"That'd be a lot better than putting her back with her folks," Logan said.

The guard looked a little taken aback at how agreeable they were to him calling the police. Jubilee could tell that that more than anything convinced him that they had Heather's best interests at heart.

"We have a watch list of children to look for who might have been kidnapped. Miss Fodder--this young lady was just added to the list yesterday, which is why I noticed. I have to take action," he said.

"Who's that man in there?" Logan asked.

"A private investigator. He works for several of the kidnapped children's parents," the patrolman said.

"You mean the Friends of Humanity," Logan growled. Jubilee realized his mistake when the man's sympathetic face became stony.

"Oh, so its like that. You're mutants," he said.

"Only me," Heather said. Jubilee felt a surge of pure admiration for the girl. "They helped me even though I'm a freak."

"Why would you do that?" the man asked, addressing his question to Logan. It was Jubilee who answered.

"There was a time when "humanity" meant something other than part of the name of a terrorist group. It used to mean that we all helped each other out, and we took care of the weak and helpless. When being _humane_ didn't just mean helping out one group of people and letting everyone else rot," she said.

"I'm not interested in your politics--" the guard began, but Logan cut him off.

"--She's just a little girl," he said quietly.

The guard sighed, scratched his head, looked back at the man in the building furtively and then handed the passports back quickly. "Go. Hurry. I can't let you through…turn back and get this legal trouble sorted out before you try to leave the country again."

"Thank you!" Jubilee said. She noted his name on his uniform and memorized it so that she could check up on him and make sure he didn't get into to much trouble for letting them go.

They all piled into the Jeep and Logan did a quick u-turn and began driving quickly the way they had come from. He drove without speaking for ten minutes, although Jubilee noticed that he had been glancing in his mirror the whole time.

"Are they following us?" Jubilee asked.

"No," Logan said.

"That's good, isn't it?" Heather asked.

"They wouldn't just let us go," Jubilee said, glancing behind her. "Not after going to all that trouble there's got to be--"

"--An ambush," Logan finished her sentence, although that hadn't been exactly what she had intended to say. When she saw the cars blocking the road up ahead, she knew that he was right.

Unfortunately the roadblock had been erected in an area where there were very deep ditches so it would be impossible to drive around the road block, even in a Jeep. Turning around would just result in another border stop. At least here they wouldn't be fighting government officials. They had to confront the Friends of Humanity.

Logan slowed the car to a crawl and Jubilee could see his body tense, and knew he would be ready to spring into violence. She trusted him to see that they were both safe, but she also knew that they were greatly outnumbered. There were at least twenty men. Jubilee felt her fingers tingle with anticipation, and was not surprised to see small sparks there.

She turned to Heather. "Ready to try out some of that battle simulation stuff?" she asked.

"Sure," Heather said.

"Do it," Logan growled. Jubilee looked at Heather as the other girl closed her eyes. Jubilee didn't expect the wave of nauseating fear that began to make her limbs shake. She closed her eyes but opened them in alarm as Logan took painful hold of her arm.

"Damn, she got you by accident," he said.

Jubilee nodded and tried to shake off the fear, realizing that it was emanating from the back seat not from her own mind. She looked around. Some of the paramilitary guys outside the car had actually started to hide or even run away. Apparently Heather had hit some of her intended targets.

"Sorry," she said to Jubilee.

"No prob, kid," she said, although she was surprised she could even get the words out. She was still more frightened than she had ever been since before she met Wolverine. Jubilee was supposed to have good shields, but Heather's attack was unlike anything she had encountered recently. It was like she was herself and Heather all at once. It was hard to protect her own mind when a part of her was convinced that Heather's fear was her own.

"Come on," Logan said. He got out of the car and Jubilee followed. She'd fought afraid before, but at least she hadn't felt like she was going to spew all over the place. One of the men oriented his weapon towards Logan, rightly assessing her as being the lesser threat and ignoring her. She fired plasmoids at his eyes, positively hoping that she'd do some permanent damage.

"Try being a bigot when you can't _see _how different people are!" she yelled as she fired at him. He screamed in pain and dropped his weapon.

Jubilee looked at Logan. He had knocked out two of the attackers. The screech of tires made Jubilee look behind her at two cars that were approaching from the rear. This situation was getting out of control. She knew that Logan had probably heard the car before she had so she concentrated on keeping him safe. He might be the perfect soldier, but she was his artillery. Their gifts complimented each other and they were difficult to beat when they worked as a team.

Less than two minutes later twelve of the attackers lay on the ground. Suddenly the eight who had been too scared to go on with the battle returned to effectiveness. Jubilee was surprised and turned to look at the Jeep behind her, expecting to see the girl in the backseat. What she saw was the door open and the girl gone.

"Logan, they took her!" she said.

"Now you've made me mad!" he said, turning to the remaining fighters. The savagery of Logan's attack would have made Jubilee cringe if she hadn't shared his ire. When the last of the men were dealt with, Logan picked one of the unconscious men up and put him in the back of Jeep.

"I'll tie him up later," he said.

Jubilee looked at the man dubiously as she fastened her seatbelt. "What are you going to do with him?" she asked.

"He might know where they've taken her," he said.

"You're not going to torture him, are you?" Jubilee asked, her eyes wide. She might be ferocious in the heat of the battle, but torture was different.

"I reckon Chuck or Jean could take a turn first. Can you call 'em for me?" he asked, gesturing towards the communicator.

"Sure," she said. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Look for a suitable base camp. I ain't letting those losers use another friend of mine for their sick purposes if I can help it," he said.

"Good," Jubilee said.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time Jean and Scott were expected to arrive at the coordinates Jubilee had sent, the camp site Logan had set up looked like a military operation. There was gear laid out carefully and communication systems buzzing. It was nice to see that Logan was always prepared, but Jubilee wondered what would have happened if the kid hadn't been kidnapped. Would he have taken them repelling?

The prisoner was tied to a tree and gagged. He hadn't woken up yet. Jubilee checked the gag, making sure the man was still breathing. Sometimes Wolvie didn't know his own strength.

The man signed and then woke up as she looked for a pulse. It was disconcerting, being viewed so fearfully. Sometimes she forgot these people really thought they were monsters.

"Where are they?" Logan growled. He looked over at the prisoner speculatively, and Jubilee realized he had seen that the man was awake.

"We're going to wait," she said.

"Urrgn," Logan grunted in return. She knew he was showing remarkable restraint. It was that time with Jean, she knew, that had given him the power to master his temper. She wondered if he even knew. "Finally!" Logan said. He must have heard the jet. Logan stalked off to meet it.

Jubilee looked at the man cautiously. They were far enough away from civilization that she could take away his gag without any danger of his cries attracting attention, but why should she? He would only lie anyway, and Jean could pluck the information they needed right out of his head. And this way she didn't have to even talk to him.

"Jubilee."

"Jean."

Jean walked into the camp with all the practiced grace and quiet decorum of a queen. Jubilee was shocked to realize that she really admired the woman. Scott, on the other hand…

"What trouble did you manage to get into now, Logan?" Scott asked.

"The kid's custody was messed up. Charles isn't her guardian after all, and we got stopped at the border then ambushed by the Friends of Humanity," Logan said.

"What happened to Heather?"

"She was taken. We don't know what happened. Jean, can you see if she's alright?" Jubilee asked. She was guiltier than she cared to admit that the girl had been in her and Logan's care when she went missing. It didn't live up to her new self image of being a highly capable and skilled adult.

Jean closed her eyes for a few moments, her brow creasing in concentration. "I can feel her presence. It's faint, but its there. She's scared, but unhurt."

"Where are they taking her?" Logan asked.

"I—I don't know," Jean said.

"What about the guy tied to the tree? Does he know?" Logan asked.

"There's a compound about fifty miles away from here. That's where they were based. He thinks that's where they would take her, but he's not sure," Jean said.

"Well? Let's gear up and go," Logan said.

After suiting up they prepared to board the jet. "What do we do with him?" Jubilee asked.

"Leave him tied to the tree," Logan growled. He walked onto the jet.

"He's just worried," Jean said. She went over to the tree to untie the man. Jubilee wished they could actually do what Logan said and leave him. But she supposed then she'd been as bad as they were. She sighed and went to help.

"You need to reassure him that he didn't do anything wrong, Jubilee. He's convinced it was his fault," Jean said.

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "God Jean, what do you think? Humankind has been in the dark these thousands of years waiting for you to come along and set us straight? I do know him, you know. I could figure something that easy out by myself. I could figure it out mostly because it's exactly the way I feel. I guess you would know that if you stuck your mind feelies into someone else's head other than Wolvies. But I guess that would just be too much to ask, wouldn't it?"

"I—I guess I'm sorry. I'm used to calming him," Jean said.

"He lived a long time before you were even born, I'd bet, and he survived just fine without you 'calming him'. Besides, sometimes a little righteous anger comes in handy," Jubilee said. She got up and let Jean release the captive.

Wolvie was in the jet. "You let the bastard go, did ya?"

"We can't stoop to their level. It would look bad to all the other good guys," Jubilee said.

"Well, at least we can still make his friends regret taking our friend," Logan said.

"Most definitely," Jubilee said.

They flew into a clearing close by the compound, their cloaking device still on. All four of them disembarked. Logan took point, of course. Jean directed him and gave him an idea of the layout from the minds of those inside as he travelled. He disabled any locks with his claws. Jubilee was his artillery, of course. If anyone snuck up on him, they would have a bright burst of colour to blind them and distract them. Scott blasted anyone who got in their way.

It took them sixteen minutes to find Heather that way. When they found her, she threw herself in the safety of Logan's arms, and Jubilee was forcibly reminded of her experiences as a young girl, and the safety to be found with Wolvie.

"Now we take them down," Logan growled.

"No! We take her and leave," Scott said.

"But why?" Jubilee asked. "We're in here, and we can find out what they wanted with her in the first place. They used legal channels to try to get her. They could do it again."

"Professor X can handle that. He can decide if we come back or not. There's a reason we have a leader."

"Chuck is a wimp when it comes to things like payback. We've got to show them they can't take people we care about," Logan said.

"We're wasting time. They know we're here. We have to decide now," Jubilee said.

"Logan, look at Heather. She's scared out of her wits. We have to take her home before we decide anything. Getting out of here might not be as easy as it was getting in."

Of course it was Jean who could convince him. He took Heather's hand and started running. They got in the jet and started home.

Jubilee was in the back of the jet. Heather was up front with Scott and Jean. Logan hunkered down beside her. "Sorry about the holiday. I should have taken you to Colorado or something."

"Never a dull moment, eh?" Jubilee said wryly.

"I don't know if I should spend that much time with Heather anymore," Logan said.

"What, is she developing a little crush on you?" Jubilee said, grinning.

Logan grimaced. "Now she's seen me fight, I think she's a little afraid of me."

"That'll pass."

"I don't know if I should let it pass. That girl doesn't have to live the life that we do," Logan said.

"Let her decide," Jubilee said. She remembered the way she had been sent away with bitterness.

"Maybe Chuck'll find a place for her to grow up, and then she can come back and decide for herself, like you did," Logan said.

"Maybe," Jubilee said.

Back at the Mansion Jubilee could sense the tension building again. She tried to stay away from the Scott, Jean and Logan. She knew something might happen with Logan if she spent too much time with him, and she didn't know if he was ready for that. She was pretty sure Jean wasn't. After she'd snapped at Jean she'd realized that maybe Jean was trying to make up for calling her a slut by helping her out with Logan. She felt like telling Jean that sometimes it's better to just apologize, not meddle and pretend that makes up for what you did wrong.

She knew Logan was trying to find another way to get away from the mansion without some goodbye scene. He'd always just left, before. He seemed to need some excuse this time. Jubilee wanted to come with him, of course, so she tried to think of some way for both of them to leave the mansion for a long period of time, together.

They would have that really really long first date, only this time, there wouldn't be a third wheel.

She found Logan in his Spartan room, reading a motorcycle repair manual.

"Logan? I think we ought to get out of here," she said.

"What do you mean, darlin'? Is the air getting a bit thick?"

"If that's some folksy way of asking me if I find the atmosphere of the mansion oppressive, then yes, the air is getting thick. I was trying to come up with some valid reason for getting out of here, and I can't," she said. "I thought I would just come tell you to take me somewhere fun."

"What fun place do you want to go?"

"Anywhere. Alaska. Argentina. Alabama. And that's just the As. I'm sure there's a million places that start with other letters," she said.

"I thought you wanted to be an X-man?"

"Maybe I want to take a year off to travel. Ever thought about that? But you don't get a year off from being a mutant, so I'll have to fight crime and stuff along the way."

"Oh yeah?" Logan said. To Jubilee's surprise he took her hand and pulled her onto his bed. Just being on his bed felt amazing, so when he stroked her check and leaned over and kissed her, she could hardly stop grinning. And it's hard to grin while being kissed!

"Oh yeah," Jubilee said, her voice breathless. "You can do that as often as you want. That and more. I am totally into that potential part of travelling with you."

"You know you're too young for me," Logan said.

"Who isn't?"

"You know I get mean and ugly and act like an ass sometimes,"

"Who doesn't?"

"You know I have enemies all over the world—so many I don't even remember half of them. There would be danger everywhere we go."

"I'm a mutant. There's danger everywhere I go anyway," Jubilee said.

"You really want to be my girl?"

"I want to be your girl."

"Then come and get me," Logan said.


End file.
